1.6. WIRELESS
2.4.1. Configuración del módulo FIM5360
2.4.1.7. Modos de Operación
Studying the sculptural oeuvre by the Starns confirms Big Bambú as a new phase in the ongoing exploration of space in a continuum of evolution in materials and process. The earliest fully three-‐dimensional work, Sphere of Influence (Ill. 17), was suspended from the glass ceiling of the Martin-‐Gropius-‐Bau in Berlin, Germany as part of the international Metropolis survey curated by Christos Joachimedes and Norman Rosenthal. Many years later, Sphere of Influence became inspiration for Big Bambú in terms of materials and composition, a connection related by Vogel:
The idea grew out of their project ‘Sphere of Influence,’ which was first shown in Berlin in 1991 and consisted of a rotating globe about 14 feet in diameter made of metal pipe clamps juxtaposed against sheets of
transparent photographs. But for ‘Big Bambú’ pipe was too heavy. ‘It didn’t
have the right qualities,’ Doug Starn said. ‘This piece is organic. It’s all about
the things in your life, including those that aren’t planned.’300
Starn Studio photos of Big Bambú’s installation at the Beacon space document the initial weaving of Sphere of Influence into the structure (Ill. 99). Experimentation, chance and interconnectedness are a continuous thread throughout the twin’s oeuvre.
In line with most major Starn projects, the title, Sphere of Influence, infers multiple meanings. Here, the advancing significance of photography in contemporary art is implied, while interpreting a self-‐referential notion can also be ascertained. Considered in the context of the Starns’ emerging helio-‐centered work, ergo interpreted as the sun, her central role in driving the universe supplies loaded implications, particularly if the sun is seen as a metaphor for photography. The
conclusion then is clear that photography has become the leading medium in the arts, a logical conclusion based on the mechanisms of contemporary visual culture.
The curatorial concept of Metropolis introduced new paradigms in contemporary art at the beginning of the 1990s, particularly large-‐scale, three-‐dimensional works and “[a]rt using photography occupies an important place in the exhibition. This involves not just photographs, but works of art created by photographic means
derived from the visual arts tradition.”301 The work of Doug and Mike Starn
epitomized this definition both in terms of content and process. Other noted photographers in the exhibition included Gilbert & George, Yasumaso Morimura, Cindy Sherman, Thomas Ruff and Jeff Wall, a cohesive group rooted mostly in portrait photography with a particular focus on the self-‐portrait and appropriation. While the jointly exhibiting photographers have stayed within the medium of photography, the Starn duo already presented their foray into the spatial dimension.
Sphere of Influence, the only suspended work in the Metropolis selection, was a twisted, spherical construction of layered maps on film enveloped by a
deconstructed orb of steel rods and bent metal strips assembled with pipe clamps. The Starns had switched from black-‐and-‐white photo paper to black-‐and-‐white ortho film, a high-‐resolution film of great tonality. As a work incorporating toned film, the gold-‐toned material revealed a transformed materiality, more akin to gold
leaf, thus eluding the medium of photography altogether.302 The sculpture’s self-‐
contained, yet bursting shape anticipated the free-‐flowing form of Big Bambú. Because it is suspended from the glass ceiling, the spherical object suggests a planet or the sun, making “references to the world of objects”, as observed by
301 Christos Joachimedes, “The Eye Low on the Horizon.” In: Christos M.; Rosenthal Joachimedes,
Norman, ed. Metropolis: International Art Exhibition, Berlin 1991 (New York: Rizzoli, 1991 ). 11.
302 The exhibition catalog also features the more two-‐dimensional, 14-‐foot high Blue Medusa (1990,
426 x 335 x 76 cm. In: Joachimedes 1991 p. 243.), a work that does not appear in the exhibition checklist, presumably a stand-‐in for the final contribution, Sphere of Influence. The Medusa
installation clearly establishes the link to the medium of photography and the Starn’s recognized interpretations of masterpieces by presenting Géricault’s iconic Romantic painting, The Raft of the Medusa (1818-‐1919), in a pipe-‐clamp assembly of four large sections printed in hues of blue by applying a filter.
Faust, to “enrich the silence with narrative.”303 The work responded to the site by
referencing building elements of the Martin-‐Gropius-‐Bau, while also taking advantage of the gallery’s abundant natural light. The glass ceiling’s steel frame grid is reinterpreted and cited in the bending steel rod assembly, while the toned film alludes to the gilded bands of the gallery’s pillars.
Within the architectural framework and compared to other installations, the sculpture’s 14-‐foot diameter appears modest in size, an unusual qualifier for a work by the Starns. Smaller still, the ensuing series of illuminated artist books was paralleled by intense conceptual and philosophical investigations, bringing forth the installations and public art on an increasingly grand scale. Big Bambú was built in and for a space that matched the size of contemporary museum galleries,
whereas Sphere of Influence, similar in size to the brothers’ large-‐scale, two-‐
dimensional works, shrank in perception when transported to a hall on the scale of the Martin-‐Gropius-‐Bau.
Sun and light as subject matter are unveiled as Doug and Mike’s new sphere of interest, which led to the illuminated artist books and the journals on the
phenomena of light and the sun. The second sculpture from that period, Amaterasu
(Ill. 100-‐101), introduced a kinetic element in a floor-‐to-‐ceiling installation. 304
Amaterasu is the name of the Japanese sun goddess within the Shinto religion, indicating the Starns’ immersion in Japanese culture as early as 1993. A minor work in the overall oeuvre, its interest is without question, because it documents the experimentation necessary to advance the work.
303 Wolfgang Max Faust, “Metropolis and the Art of Our Time.” 19-‐24. In: Joachimedes, Metropolis:
International Art Exhibition, Berlin 1991. 22.
304 Mark Barry, "Doug + Mike Starn @ The Armory Show, NYC," (Mar. 7, 2009 ).
http://vimeo.com/3512714 (April 8, 2012). The video clip records Amaterasu’s kinetic movement.